James j



(No Modem J. J. RICKETTS.

FLUSHING TANK.

No. 356,894. Patented Peb. 1, 1887.

N, PETERS Fhcin-umgnpher. Waumglulk DAC:

"Unirse drains Parenti* JAMES J. RICKETTS, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

SPECEFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 356,894, dated February l, i887.

Application filed March l, i856. Serial No. 193,550. (No model.)

To t/Z whom may concern:

Be it known that I, .latins J. Ricnnrrs, of Pittsburg, in the county oi' Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Flushing-Tanks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

A difficulty heretofore experienced in the use of flushing-tanks for water-closets has been that the valve closed too quickly when released, so that the quantity of water discharged into the basin was insufficient for the proper iiushing of the closet.

The object of my invention is to overcome this difficulty and to discharge the desired quantity of Water whenever the ilushing-valve is raised.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my improvement, I will no vv describe it by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a sectional view of the dashingtank and its appliances. Fig. 2 is a sectional vienT of the valve-stein on the line .fr .r of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a modiiication.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts.

The tank c is oi' any desired construction, and is provided u'ithadischarge-pipe, b, which leads down to the bowl of the ivatercloset in the usual Way. Surrounding the mouth of the pipe b is a tubular valve-seat, c. A valvesteui, d, carrying` a valve, e, is suspended above the seat c by means of a chain or cord, f, and at the lower end of the val 've-stein d are guides g, which extend Within the valveseat c. Fastened to the valve'steni d a short distance above the valve e is a broad disk, I1., made of sheet metal. The chain f extends over sheaves QJ k to the side of the tank c, and thence downward to the sea-t of the closet, where it is provided With a pull or handle, fm. Pivoted to the top of the Vtank a is an arm, n, having an adjustable weight, n', thereon. The chain f is fastened tothe rod n above its pivotal point, so that when the valve c is closed the rod a shall stand in a vertical position, and when the valve is opened or raised it shall assume an inclined position, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. l. The tank is provided with a water-supply pipe, o, and a valve-chamber, p, having a valve, g, which closes against its seat by the pressure of the water. The tank is also provided with a oat, r, mounted on a pivoted lever, s, which lever is provided with a projection, z, so arranged as to come in contact with the outer end of the valvesteni g and to open the valve when the iioat r falls in the tank, and therebY admit the Water from the pipe o. As the tank fills up the iloat r rises and permits the valve q to come to its seat and close the supplvpipe.

Thus constructed, the operation of my improvenient is as follows: lli/Then the handle m is pulled, the Weight n falls, the valve e is raised, and the Water which is contained in the tank rushes out through the dischargepipe b. The valve is so supported by the Weight n' that it will not descend of its own Weight, but will remain in its elevated position until the exhaustion of the air in the pipe b caused by the fallo the water therethrough produces a downward pressure on and a strong` downward current around the disk it, which overcomes the power of the weight a and draws the rod a to a vertical position and seats the valve c. rilhis takes place after the Water in the tank has fallen a suiiicient distance to uncover or partially uncover the disk 7e, and the quantity of water thus discharged can be definitelyv determined, so that the discharge of a delinite and sufficient amount of water to iinsh the basin can be insured. The fall of the water in the tank causes the descent of the float r, which in turn causes the projection t to unseat or open the valve q, and thereby admit a fresh supply of Water from the pipe o to the tank. As the Water rises in the tank the float rises also until the valve g is relieved of the projection t, and is forced toits seat by the pressure of the Water iu the pipe o, and the supplT cut oii'.

In Fig. 3 I sliouT a modied arrangement for retarding the fall of the valve e. I-Iere, instead of counterWeight-ing the valve e, I put a friction on the chain or cordhjf by passing it over pins u, arranged between the guidesheaves t' 7n; or equivalent friction devices may be employed. These friction appliances are the equivalents of the counter-Weight a', and are included in the term counterweighted 7 as used in the claims. The object of these provisions is to retard the descent of the valve,

and the object of the disk h is to make use ot' the suction of the discharge to overcome the retardin g force and seat the valve at the proper time.

I make no claim to the supply devices. 'Ihe pull end of the chain f may be fastened to the discharge-lever of the water-closet and be operated thereby, if desired.

I have illustrated an arrangement in Fig. 1 which consists in a device for automatically iiushing the basin after the water-closet has been used, and in addition thereto for automatically washing or moistening the basin when the user seats himself upon the closet. The latter feature is desirable for the reason that the formation of a thin water-iilm upon the sides of the basin before it is used prevents it from being soiled and becoming filthy, as often happens to neglected closets.

In Fig. l, A is the basin ofthe closet. B is the usual hinged seat, which is normally kept a little elevated by a spring, C, which bears on the under side thereof. D is a vertical. rod, which is guided by suitable brackets, D, and near its base has a collar, E,which bears upon the end of a pivoted lever, F. A spring, G, bearing on the short arm of the lever F or rod D, tends to raise them. The cordf, instead of terminating at the pull-handle m,eXtends down into the elosetbox, and has suspended to its end a weight, H, which bears upon the long arm of the lever F when raised, the short arm of the iever being the one next the rod D. The gravity lof the weight H is such as to be alittle less than the weight of the valve-stem d plus the hydrostatic pressure on the disk h and the valve e, so that normally the valve will remain seated.

rlhe operation is as follows: The drawings show the apparatus as it is when the closet is not in use in full lines, and the dotted lines show it as it is when a person. is seated thereon. Vhen a person sits upon the seat B and depresses it on its hinges, it will push the rod D down and will raise the long arm of the lever F, and this in turn will raise the weight H and will slacken the cordf. The proportions of the long and short arms of the lever F are preferably such that a small depression of the short arm will raise the weight H a considerable distance. As soon as the user rises from the seat the long arm of the lever F will fall, andthe weight H, being released, will drop, and in its descent will gain such momentum as to overcome the inertia of the valve and its disk 7L andv to raise the valve from its seat, at the same time pulling the counterweighted lever n away from. the perpendicular. This flushes the basin just as before described. After the weight H has fallen it will be gradually raised and the valve closed by the pressure of the water-exhaust on the disk h, but not until the basin has been well hushed. In practice it will be found easy to adjust the weightuI-I, so that, while it may not normally be able to unseat the valve, its sudden fall and the impetus derived therefrom may do so. After the seat B has been freed from pressure the parts are restored to their ordinary positions by the several springs, which may be re placed by suitable gravity devices.

The preliminary washing or moistening ofthe tank is accomplished by the following mech anism: A disk orbell-crank lever, I, is pivoted te a supporting-post, j, under the closet-seat, and has a lip or ledge, I, projecting from its periphery, on which ledge rests the end of the tongue or tappet K, which depends from the seat. At the rear of the closet-box is a bellcrank lever, L, one arm of which is connected with the valve-cordj", and the other arm is attached to a chain or cord, M, which connects the lever L with the lever I. Then a person first sits down upon the seat B, the descent-l of the tongue K upon the ledge I will partially turn the lever I, and through the rod M and lever L will pull upon the cordf and will un seat the valve e, so as to permit the descent of some water into the basin from the tank a. After the seat B has descended a small distance, the tongue K will slip from the ledge I', allowing the lever I to return,and, the cord f being then released from tension, the valve will be reseated by pressure of the water on the disk h. The preliminary wash or flow of water therefore continues during a short time only, but is sufficient to secure the advantages above indicated. Then the seat B is relieved from pressure, the tappet K will rise and readjust itself on the ledge I.

Although I have shown and described the disk h as the means of closing the valve by the force of the suction, I do not desire to limit myself to its shape or form, as other of the known equivalents may be employed.

IOC

IVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In combination with the Iiushingtank of a water-closet, a discharge-valve and a yielding retracting device tending to hold the valve unseatcd, but insufficient to resist the suction force tending to close the valve, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. In combination with t-he flushing-tank of a water-closet, a dischargevalve and its operating mechanism and a balanced counter weight tending to retain the valve unseated when the weight is unbalanced, but insufcient to resistthesuction force of the discharge on the valve, substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. In combination with the flushing-tank of a watercloset, a yielding retracting device tending to keep the valve open, but insuftlcient to resist the suction force tending to keep the valve closed, and a tripping device, sub stantially as described, connected with the seat,- for the purpose of tripping the valve when pressure is applied to the seat, as and for' the purposes specified.

IIO

4. In combination with the flushing-tank of In testimony' whereof I have hereunto set my a Water-closet, a. valve normaily unseated and hand this 23d day of January, A. D. 1886. adapted to be drawn to its seal; by the suction of the ontowing water, and a yielding retmot- JAMES J. RICKETTS.

5 ing device connected to .said Valve tending to hold the same unseated, but; being insuiioent Yi/'itnessoszto resist. the suction, substantialy as and for W. B. COR-WIN,

y the purposes described. l THOMAS XV. BAKEWELL. 

